撒切尔夫人生平讣文: 政治抱负未息, 步入晚年封爵

Later years

晚年

She was elevated to the peerage as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire, receiving the Order of the Garter in 1995.

1995年，撒切尔夫人荣获“嘉德骑士”勋章；在此之前，她还被册封为终身贵族，成为林肯郡克斯蒂文区的女男爵。

She wrote two volumes of her memoirs while remaining active in politics, campaigning against the Maastricht Treaty and condemning the Serbian policy of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.

她著有两本回忆录，同时还活跃在政界，开展各种活动反对《马斯特里赫特条约》，并谴责塞尔维亚在波斯尼亚的种族清洗政策。

She publicly endorsed William Hague for the Conservative leadership in 1997 but pointedly failed to speak in favour of his successor, Iain Duncan Smith.

1997年，撒切尔夫人公开支持威廉•黑格出任保守党党魁；对于他的继任人选伊恩•邓肯•史密斯，她也曾游说表示支持，但终究没有取得成功。

She was forced to curtail her activities in 2001 when her health began to deteriorate. After a series of minor strokes, her doctors advised her against making public speaking appearances and she appeared increasingly frail.

从2001年开始，撒切尔夫人健康每况愈下，不得不逐渐淡出政治圈。在经历几次轻微中风后，医生建议她不要再进行任何公开演讲，她看上去也越来越虚弱了。

She was also suffering from dementia which was affecting her short-term memory, something her daughter, Carol, would reveal in 2008.

女儿卡罗尔2008年曾透露，撒切尔夫人还患有老年痴呆症，短期记忆因此大大受损。

When her husband Denis - whom she had described as her "rock" - died in 2003 aged 88, she paid him an emotional tribute. "Being prime minister is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be - you cannot lead from a crowd. But with Denis there I was never alone. What a man. What a husband. What a friend."

2003年，撒切尔夫人88岁的丈夫丹尼斯去世。撒切尔夫人一直将丈夫视为自己的“坚强后盾”；面对丈夫的离去，她难掩内心的失落，并这样表达了她对丈夫的敬意：“担任首相很孤独。从某种意义上说，领袖从来就是孤独的。但是，有丹尼斯在身边，我从来没感到孤单。多么伟大的男人！多么优秀的丈夫！多么难得的益友！”

A year later she travelled to the US to bid farewell to her political partner Ronald Reagan, whose funeral took place in Washington in June 2004.

一年后，也就是2004年6月，撒切尔夫人来到美国华盛顿参加了罗纳德•里根的葬礼，跟她的政坛伙伴作最后的告别。

She continued to appear in public, perhaps most notably when she unveiled a bronze statue of herself in the House of Commons, the first time a living former prime minister had been commemorated in this way.

她不断出现在公众视野，最引人注目的一次或许就是她在下议院为自己的铜像揭幕，这也是第一次前首相在生前得到这种荣誉。

And she returned to Downing Street. Gordon Brown invited her for tea, shortly after he became prime minister and she was back in 2010 as a guest of David Cameron, the new head of a coalition government.

之后，撒切尔夫人回到了唐宁街。戈登•布朗当选英国首相后不久，便邀请她一起喝茶；2010年，她又作为联合政府新首脑大卫•卡梅伦的客人被邀请回到唐宁街。

Margaret Thatcher, who has died following a stroke, was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th Century.

撒切尔夫人，20世纪最有影响力的政治人物之一，在2013年4月8日，因中风不幸逝世。

Her legacy had a profound effect upon the policies of her successors, both Conservative and Labour, while her radical and sometimes confrontational approach defined her 11-year period at No 10.

她深深影响了她之后的包括保守党和工党在内的历届英国首相。这样一位激进的，有时甚至带有攻击性的“铁娘子”担任了长达11年之久的英国首相。

Her term in office saw thousands of ordinary voters gaining a stake in society, buying their council houses and eagerly snapping up shares in the newly privatised industries such as British Gas and BT.

她在任职期间推动社会改革，成千上万的英国普通选民购买了政府公屋，抢购了诸如英国天然气和英国电信等新近私有化行业的股份。

But her rejection of consensus politics made her a divisive figure and opposition to her policies and her style of government led eventually to rebellion inside her party and unrest on the streets.

但她对舆论政治的排斥使她备受争议，同时她的政策也招致反对。最终她所领导的政党内部反声一片，社会也混乱不堪。